Home for the Holidays
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Dantanchel drabbles and one-shots. Dani, Santana and Rachel spend their first holiday season together.
1. Thanksgiving

**Home for the Holidays**

It was their first holiday season together, and Rachel wanted it to be perfect. She'd had the Excel sheet coordinating schedules and task lists up on the fridge for weeks. She'd planned their families' plane tickets – Santana's parents getting in at four , her dads getting in at five, and Dani's brother getting in at eight (because he had finals and couldn't leave until then). She got the groceries – even unethical foodstuffs for the family – the weekend before. Everything was scheduled and planned out….

So why on earth was this going so terribly?

"DAMN IT!" she screamed, dropping a potato and nicking her finger. She couldn't find a band aid, so she just wrapped it up with some of Dani's penguin duct tape. Her ears perked up when she heard the door of the flat slide open. "No no no no no, not yet," she mumbled to herself. It was noon – what the hell were they doing back so early?

"Rachel?" Dani called. "I'm back! I got an electric turkey slicer, because reasons. The sales guy said something about it having 700 horsepower, but he didn't know what the fuck he was talking abo – what the hell?" she asked, stopping in the doorway of the kitchen. "Aw…baby."

"Don't. I've got this under control."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Your gravy's on fire."

"FUCK!"

"Language, love. I think Santana and I've had a bad influence on you."

"Dani…" Rachel whined.

"Okay, okay. Move over. I got this."

Rachel stepped to the side as Dani proceeded to basically start from scratch. She was annoyed that she hadn't been able to pull off the perfect, magazine picture Thanksgiving, but it was awesome to see Dani take over the kitchen. The blonde was a natural in the kitchen.

"Bad news, the sweet potatoes are fucked. Good news, you didn't start the turkey yet, so we're good." Dani gave her a huge grin and pointed to the bag of cranberries. "You can make the cranberry sauce."

"Don't you just open a can?"

Dani quirked an eyebrow at her. "Love, you are not going to suffer the gelatinous sadness that is canned cranberry. Go on, grab a bowl and I'll talk you through it."

* * *

Santana drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as she pulled up in front of the airport and popped the trunk. There was a knock on the window and Santana rolled down the window for the cop.

"You can't park here, ma'am."

"I just pulled up. My family's right there," Santana argued.

"Well…just keep moving along once you get them loaded."

Santana tried not to roll her eyes, and managed to keep it together until he'd walked away. She smiled brightly at her mom and dad. "How was your flight?" she asked, taking her mom's bag.

"There was a baby kicking my seat the entire way over," Cristobal said, kissing her forehead.

"What? Weren't you in first class?"

"Yes. And someone brought their two year old. Now look, I'm all for bringing your kid if they know how to act, but this little motherfu –"

"Cris! Language! That's where Santana gets it," Maribel said.

Santana grinned as they piled back into car. "We've got to get back home fast. We left Rachel cooking, and I don't know if Dani's going to get back in time to salvage the meal."

"Oh goodness…" both Lopez parents said in unison.

* * *

"Boom!" Dani said, taking the roasted Brussels sprouts out of the oven. "You doing okay over there?"

"I think I can handle stirring," Rachel said with a smirk. A cranberry popped and she jumped.

"I brought parents!"

"Hi parents!" Dani and Rachel called.

Maribel came straight into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves. "What can I do?"

By the time Dani's brother Dylan got there, they were all gathered in the living room drinking cider and coffee, and playing Disney Scene It. Santana and Leroy were battling it out while everyone else was running commentary.

"The turkey's in the kitchen. Grab a plate and get your ass in here to help me," Santana said.

"You look like you're doing okay," Dylan said, grinning.

"If she starts losing, it's not going to be pretty," Cris said.

Hiram snorted into his mug. "I never thought I find someone worse than Rachel when it came to board games."

"Hey now!" Santana said.

Dani patted the seat next to her as Dylan reentered the room. "Glad you could come, little bro."

"You're two minutes older than me."

"And don't you ever forget it."

"Who wants pumpkin pie?" Rachel asked, hopping up. "I actually made it without Dani's assistance." She didn't miss her older girlfriend's and her father's panicked looks, and glared at them. "It's been quality tested," she said with a huff.

"Then let's do it!" Dylan said.

"Finish your dinner," Dani said.

"Yes, Mom…."

Dani stuck her tongue out at her brother, causing the parents to chuckle.

Rachel brought the pumpkin pie out and began serving. It may have been hectic and slightly crazy, and she might have to prevent a stabbing when Santana inevitably lost Scene It, but this was still a pretty perfect Thanksgiving….


	2. Black Friday

**Home for the Holidays**

"Am not!"

"Are too."

"I am not!"

"You are two!"

"I am not whipped!"

"Yes you are," Dani said, grinning at Santana. She leaned over to kiss her oldest girlfriend. "You went vegan for her…."

"So did you."

"Okay, fair point. But I cheat when I'm not at home. You don't. And you bring home extra chocolate whenever she has a bad day. You cleaned the entire apartment when she complained that you hadn't made the bed all week. And you're all tired and grumpy right now because you went back on your solemn vow to never fuck with the crazies on Black Friday. How early did she get you up?" Dani asked, handing Santana a mug of hot chocolate.

"Eurgh… four a.m. How did you get out of it?"

"I told her there was no way in hell I was going," Dani said simply. She sat back down next to Santana. "So how was it?"

Santana just groaned.

* * *

"_San? Baby? It's time to get up," Rachel whispered. _

"_Ejfeiwofmdkgjijgflkjfdkfumbbble."_

"_Baby, wake up. We need to get going."_

"_Do we have to?" Santana mumbled, trying to pull Rachel back into bed. _

"_Yes, and stop that. You'll wake Dani up."_

"_Why does Dani get to sleep in?"_

"_Stop whining. She's got other things to do today. Come on."_

_Santana struggled into a half raised position, kissed Dani on the cheek, and rolled out of bed. She wasn't in the mood for this, so she didn't bother showering or anything. She threw on sweats and a hoodie, and made her way out to the living room. _

_Rachel was waiting there with a thermos and a grin. "Okay, first stop is Best Buy."_

* * *

"Speaking of…what did you have to do today?" Santana asked.

"There was a Criminal Minds marathon," Dani said airily. "Keep going. What happened?"

"We were way at the back of the line. These crazy motherfuckers camped out – camped out, Dani – so when they opened the door, we were behind the initial rush. But Rachel's nothing if not prepared."

* * *

"_Right, don't look anyone in the eye," Rachel said, taking Santana's hand and leading her through the chaos. _

_Santana stared in horror as three fights broke out over a TV. "Oh my god…Rachel," she whispered, pulling the girl closer to her. She dodged an errant elbow. "These people are crazy!"_

"_Yes, which is why I stressed against eye contact. Come on, all we need is Game of Thrones for Dani."_

"_What? That's not even a Christmas present! She wants to watch it tonight!"_

"_Come on, Santana."_

_The DVD aisle was even worse. Rachel got a look of absolute determination, and turned to Santana. _

"_You keep a lookout."_

"_Wait, Rachel! Don't go!"_

"_I have to, Santana."_

* * *

"Was this a shopping trip or a war movie?"

"Do you want to hear this story or not?"

* * *

_Rachel dove into the mass of people. Her height actually worked in her favor this time, and she was able to duck under some people. She grabbed the last copy of Game of Thrones season two and stuffing it under her shirt. She took it back out once she was back next to Santana. "Got it!" she said triumphantly. "We'll get a couple of iTunes gift cards at the register."_

_When they got in line, they saw paramedics tending to the five fighters, and a broken TV sitting off to the side. _

"_This is just ridiculous," Santana said. "Shopping shouldn't require first aid. Where are we going after this?"_

"_Old Navy, and then Target. And possibly Barnes and Noble."_

_Santana sighed and nodded. _

"Okay, that wasn't too bad," Dani said.

"It got worse. Much worse."

_Santana growled as a women twice their age snatched a sweater out of Rachel's hands. "Bitch, you best step to the left. She had that – act your damn age!"_

"_Finders keepers!" the lady said, trying to turn away. _

_Santana grabbed her arm and whispered in her ear. "I'm an MMA fighter – those people you see scrapping on TV? Nothing compared to what I can do. Give that back to my girlfriend, now."_

_The lady went pale, but gave Santana a defiant glare. She tossed the sweater back at Rachel. "Fine…take it, dyke."_

_Rachel automatically grabbed Santana to stop her slugging the woman. "Easy. Let's just go."_

* * *

"What a bitch," Dani said, tucking into a slice of leftover apple pie.

"Preach. So we got all the clothes she wanted. Target was actually relatively normal, except for when I slipped on a skateboard someone's idiot fuck-trophy left out. Rachel got the toy submarine she wanted for her cousin, and managed to get Skyrim for her dad. It was a quick trip. Barnes and Noble, though…."

* * *

"_OW!"_

"_Rachel? Are you okay?"_

"_Someone pulled my hair!"_

_Santana threw a few elbows and made it to Rachel. _

"_Do you see Feast for Crows?"_

"_I have no flippin' clue what –"_

"_OW!"_

_Santana whipped around and got in the man's face. "You got a problem?"_

"_I'm just trying to get by –"_

"_Why do you need to pull her hair to do that? Touch her again, and I'll –"_

"_Got it!" Rachel hollered, holding it up. _

_Santana led the way back to the main aisle. They were almost to the front of the store when a box came flying out of nowhere and hit her square in the head. _

"_Santana!" Rachel squealed. "Did someone just assault you with a Nook?"_

"_I'm fine…."_

"_You're bleeding!"_

* * *

"Well, that explains the festive band aid."

"It was a fight over the last one and it flew out of one guys hand when another guy hit him with the hard cover, illustrated edition of the Chronicles of Narnia."

"Like I said, whipped," Dani said, grinning.

"Well, she promised to make it up to me after her nap," Santana said wink.


	3. Santana's Birthday

**Home for the Holidays**

Santana walked into the apartment in a bad mood. She was tired as hell, and just wanted to spend the last few hours of her birthday with her girlfriends. She paused, looking around.

The lights were low (Thank you, Kurt, for installing a dimmer), and there was a plate of breadsticks was sitting on the coffee table. Her Playstation was on, and Kingdom Hearts was on the screen. She grabbed a breadstick and picked up the note next to the plate.

_Hey babe! This is your first present. You get your next one when you beat the damn Aladdin level. Xoxo, Dani_

"Damn it, that's not even fair!" Santana said. She'd been stuck on the level for a month and a half. Rachel, who was a secret video game ninja, said it was a mental block. Dani, who hated video games, had banned it from the house after Santana had thrown the controller during the Tarzan level.

She sat down, grabbed another breadstick, and started beating the shit out of the Cave of Wonders.

"How's she doing?" Rachel whispered, kissing Dani's shoulder. She peeked at the iPad the girl was holding.

"She just started bitching at Jafar, so I think we've got time to get ready." She pulled on a hoodie and went out the fire escape.

Rachel shook her head and went to the closet to grab Santana's presents.

Santana jumped up, arms raised. "YES! Fucking finally! Take that, you big red genie asshole!"

The doorbell rang, making her jump out of shock.

She looked out the spyhole, seeing only a bunch of fire and ice roses. Opening the door, she found Dani standing there with flowers and a bag full of food. "Dinner," she said. "And your next present."

Santana accepted the flowers with a grin. "Wait, where's Rachel?"

"Here," Rachel said, coming out of the bedroom with two bags. "Dani went all Covert Affairs on us and sneaked out the window so she could show up at the door all romantic and stuff. We ready to eat?"

"Hell yeah! What we got?"

"We got your favorite – Bowtie pasta with pesto from Cooper T's."

"Seriously?" Santana asked, eyes widening. "Since when do they do take-out orders?"

"They don't," Dani explained as they sat down by the coffee table. "But their favorite former waitress phoned in a favor."

"You're amazing," Santana said. "Both of you. What's with all the fuss though?"

"Your birthday always gets put on the back burner," Rachel explained as they opened all of the cartons. "During school we were always freaking out about finals and traveling, and last year we all had food poisoning, and then this year we had people coming in…. We wanted to make sure you got the spotlight for once."

Santana smiled shyly. "Thanks, babes."

"Anything for you, sexy," Dani said. "Now eat so you can open your presents."

"So, does this mean the Kingdom Hearts ban has been lifted?" Santana asked, taking a bite of her pasta.

"For now," Dani said as Rachel laughed. "I reserve the right to reinstate it."

"Fair enough. Gimme presents!" Santana said, making "grabby hands".

Rachel rolled her eyes, but handed Santana the two bags. "Fine, here you go."

"Before you open them, you should know that there's a theme."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. You'll see," Dani said, grinning.

Santana smirked and opened the smaller bag first. "AVENGERS PJS!"

"See, told you," Rachel said.

"Yes!" Santana said, stripping in the middle of the living room and pulling them on.

"Dear god, woman," Dani said. "Open the other one. Rachel, ear plugs."

Santana opened the second one, and nearly broke glass with her screams.

"AVENGERS BOARD GAME!"

Rachel grinned over at Dani as Santana tore into the box. "How much do you want to bet we're going to spend the rest of the night playing this game and watching the movie instead of giving her her other two presents?"

"There's more?" Santana squeaked.

"Oh yeah," Dani said, standing up. She held out a hand to Rachel to help her up. "Your last two presents are in the bedroom…when you're finished with your toys in here."

Santana stood gaping at their retreating backs for a long moment, before getting up and running after them. "Best birthday ever."


	4. Happy Hanukkah

**Home for the Holidays**

Rachel had never, since the beginning of her unconventional three-way relationship, imagined a situation in which she would be actively dodging both of her girlfriends. But here she was, putting in extra time with Cassandra July just to avoid going home.

"Right, Berry," Cassandra said after hour number two. "Not that I'd ever object to your putting in overtime, but what's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean," Rachel panted, mid-pirouette.

"Don't play with me, Berry," the older dancer said, correcting Rachel's form on the next move. "You and I may have reached some sort of understanding, but I know I'm still your least favorite – god damn it, extend your arms! You're not that short! Anyway, I still hold the distinct honor of being your least favorite teacher, even though you're not in my class anymore, and you wouldn't be here if there wasn't a reason. Pause!"

Rachel froze. She'd learned the hard (and slightly painful) way to freeze when July told you to. She glared at her teacher, who came to stand right in front of her. "This isn't the most comfortable position, you know."

"And you're going to stay like that until you tell me what's going on," July said, smirking.

"Fine, but you're not going to like it."

"On the contrary – I find your personal life fascinating and oftentimes hilarious. And since your technically not my student at this point, I feel no guilt whatsoever about taking you out for coffee while you explain your sudden passion for dance."

Rachel huffed and relaxed. "Fine. But not Starbucks."

"Still boycotting?"

"Damn straight."

* * *

As the two of them walked down the street to Spill the Beans, Rachel began talking.

"So back on the fourth, Santana and Dani got into this…discussion over who was the smoothest operator, if you will."

"I won't, but go on," Cassandra said, grinning.

Rachel rolled her eyes and continued. "So they made this bet – that I found out about through Kurt – that they were each going to…er…"

* * *

"_No way – you're sexy as hell and fantastic in bed, but you've got sort of a cavewoman thing going," Dani said. She stole a French fry from Santana and shrugged. "You're direct, which can be excellent. You just straight up tell us when you want to get busy. But I still say Rachel likes to be wooed."_

"_Sometimes," Santana conceded with a smirk. "But trust me, she digs the whole tossed over the shoulder and onto the bed thing."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Hell yeah."_

"_Prove it."_

_Santana quirked an eyebrow at her. It was a good eyebrow quirk – Quinn would have been proud. "Okay. Marathon sex starting next Sunday, until the following Monday. We'll see who's better at getting Rachel all hot and bothered."_

* * *

"Wait a second… Hanukkah sex?" Cassandra asked, laughing.

"Exactly. It gave them an excuse and a time frame - you have to admit it's a good plan. And although they've both been very creative, I genuinely hope this doesn't become a tradition, because I'm exhausted."

"Wait, here's my question…. Sex, whatever – great – but they _did _get you _actual _Hanukkah presents, right?"

"We go on dates instead of presents."

"Eight nights of dates and fucking…that sounds like a pretty good deal to me," Cassandra said with a grin.

"I'm tired, Cassie!" Rachel whined. She only used the woman's shortened name when she was annoyed.

July just laughed. "Well, you were moving pretty good for someone halfway to a sex coma."

"I hate you."

"So you're telling me that you've been using my dance studio as a hideout for the past two days?"

"Exactly."

The older woman shook her head. "Go home to your girlfriends, Berry." She blew her a kiss and stood. "I'll see you on campus tomorrow."

Rachel sighed and looked at her watch.

* * *

Rachel did go home, eventually. After stopping by the used bookstore and browsing all the new titles in the history section, stopping by the gun store to look at the safes (because her dad was insisting on getting them all shooting lessons), and popping into the corner store for another carton of ice cream. When she got back to their flat, she groaned.

There were candles lit everywhere, and rose petals. And wine.

"No," she told Dani, who walked out of the kitchen wearing basically nothing. "No, and where's Santana – eek!" She squealed as someone – presumably her other girlfriend – picked her up and spun her around. "No, put me down. No more sex! I need a day or two, or five, to recover. I'm tired."

"But Rachel," Dani whined, laughing.

"Nope. Santana, I do find your direct approach to our love life very invigorating. Dani, the apartment looks great and I love the fact that you know how to turn up the romance. But both of you? I need a break. So let's have dinner and go…do something – anything – that doesn't involve our genitals."

Both other girls laughed.

Santana nodded and said, "Right. Ice skating, anyone?"


	5. Post Shopping Cuddles

**Home for the Holidays**

The three girls returned home at the same time for once, and each one of them looked like they were about to drop. Each had about three bags in their hands from a round of Christmas shopping.

"Any objection to Disney movies and take out tonight?" Rachel asked

"None," Santana groaned, dropping her bags.

"I vote for moving the mattress out here and making a pillow nest," Dani said.

"I'll do that if you two order food and get the movies picked out," Santana said, nodding.

It took all of ten minutes for them to get the living room converted into a cuddle nest – they were experts at it by now. They collapsed into the pile of pillows and blankets and automatically gravitated toward one another.

"Did you talk to your brother today?" Santana asked. "Is he going to come up again for Christmas?"

"I don't think so. He just got this job at an inn – housekeeping and front desk – and I think he wants to keep going through the holidays. Save up some money. Plus, when my parents found out he was working there, they decided it was time for a vacation to North Carolina. Not sure how happy he is about that…."

Rachel was reaching up to turn off the lamp when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the other two and back toward the door. "Were we expecting anyone?"

"No."

"I don't think so. That can't be the pizza already."

Santana got up to answer it. She looked through the spyhole and opened the door quickly. "Kurt! What's wrong?" she asked, pulling him inside.

His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bright red. It looked like he'd been crying for at least an hour before dragging himself over there. "Fun fact," he said, choking up again. "If the person you're dating starts acting like a psychopath, continuing to date them is probably an error in judgment."

"Who do we need to kill?" Dani asked, coming over to hug him.

"I got Kevin some speakers and new cufflinks for Christmas," Kurt explained. "He threw them at my head…shortly before breaking up with me."

"Oh, Kurt…" Rachel said. "Come on, we're just about to watch Disney movies."

"No, I don't want to interrupt your date night."

"Shut it, Hummel," Santana said gently. "Come cuddle with us."

He smiled and followed as Dani pulled him over to the mattress. "Just…no Fox and the Hound?"

"Oh god, no," Santana said. "It took us four days to console Rachel after the last time."

"Hercules first!" Dani said.

* * *

Later, as they were watching Pocahontas and eating massive amounts of chocolate, the doorbell rang.

"Well, damn," Dani said, getting up to answer it. "We're popular as hell tonight." She opened the door to find Kevin, Kurt's ex, standing there.

"Is he here?" Kevin asked, pushing his way into the flat.

"Nice to see you too, Kevin. Do come in," Dani said sarcastically to the empty hallway.

"Kevin –" Kurt began, but stopped when the older boy pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Kevin told him. "How's your head?"

"Better. But, Kevin –"

"I shouldn't have lost my temper. I mean, you're not perfect either, but I should have kept my cool."

"I was just trying to give you a present," Kurt said weakly.

"An awful present," Kevin scoffed. "Come on… I'll make you dinner and we can talk about it." He turned to leave, but stopped when he noticed Kurt wasn't following. "Let's go, Kurt," he said coldly.

"You were right," Kurt said softly.

"About what?"

"Early…when you said we wouldn't work." Kurt backed up a few feet. "You're a narcissistic, controlling, abusive man-child, and I'm done."

Kevin scoffed. "You're breaking up with me? Seriously? Kurt, I could do so much better than you and you know it. But you're lucky, because I don't want anyone else. I want you."

"I don't want you," Kurt said, perfectly calm. "Not anymore."

Kevin closed the distance and grabbed Kurt by the arm.

"Ow! Let go of me!"

"You have no idea how close I am to –"

"Sudden, painful death?" Santana supplied, stepping between them. "Let go of him, now, or you'll wish _I'd_ never been born."

Kevin sneered, but let go of Kurt. "Fine," he said. "But don't expect me to take you back."

When he'd gone, there was total silence for a second before Kurt collapsed back onto the pillows, crying softly. The girls cuddled in around him – Rachel, in particular, holding on like a sloth. His tears subsided after a few minutes. "Thanks," he whispered.

"Would you like him flayed alive, or merely impaled?" Dani asked.

Kurt gave a watery chuckle. "Let's watch Cinderella II."

"You and your sequels," Santana said, ruffling his hair and getting up to change the channel.


	6. Gamer

**Home for the Holidays**

Each of them was a gamer, just in different ways. Santana was the more "traditional" gamer – the one who came home every now and then with the newest Fable, Assassin's Creed, Kingdom Hearts, etc., and would disappear for the rest of the weekend. Rachel was more about her mobile games – Temple Run, Candy Crush, all those guys. And Dani? She was the puzzle master of the family. There was no hidden picture she couldn't find, no unknown object she couldn't piece together. Professor Layton was damn near deified in their house, and Mortimer Becket was the single most cursed fictional character (which was saying something, since they were all Once Upon a Time fans, and Santana hated both Charmings). They had a system, because if they didn't, this would have long since turned into a thousand dollar per month habit. They could buy games or gift cards for games for each other on Christmas and Valentine 's Day, and that was it.

Rachel had called dibs on getting Dani's game this year, and was currently calling around trying to find it. Well, that's what she was trying to do, at least.

"Santana!"

"Hmm?" Santana asked, continuing to pepper Rachel's stomach with kisses.

"It's really hard to concentrate when you're doing that," Rachel told her, dialing the next number.

"Sorry," Santana said, grinning.

"Hello, Tim," Rachel said pleasantly into the phone. "I was wondering if you had the Professor Layton series in stock? Wonderful! Do you have the newest one – The Forest of Dreams? Sold out until January? Okay, thank you for your…time." She'd paused because Santana was now raking her nails down her sides. "Santana!"

"Yes?"

Rachel just gave her a look and kept dialing. "Hello, Jaime. Do you guys have Professor Layton and the Forest of Dreams in?" She bit her lip to keep from moaning as Santana began attacking her neck. Instinctively, she wrapped her leg around the older woman's waist, and she felt Santana grin into her shoulder. "Sold out as well? Okay, thank youuuuu…." She hung up and slapped Santana on the ass.

"Not exactly a deterrent, baby," Santana said, laughing.

"Let me find this game, and then I'm yours for the rest of the day," Rachel promised.

"You're already mine," Santana growled in her ear.

This time Rachel didn't even make it through the greeting. She let out a loud moan as Santana rolled her hips into her. "Oh, sorry, wrong number!" she said, hanging up. "Santana," she groaned.

"I bought the game last week, because I knew you wouldn't get around to it and it would sell out," Santana said in between kisses. "Stop leaving your Christmas shopping off until late."

"I hate you sometimes," Rachel said, totally belying that statement with the fierce kiss she gave her girlfriend.

Santana chuckled. "Love you too, baby."


	7. Gamer part 2

**Home for the Holidays**

"Is she going to kill us?"

Silence rang through the loft until Dani finally nodded and said, "Yep."

The two of them stared down at the broken Xbox for a long moment.

"Should we hide it or…go buy a puppy and blame it?" Rachel asked, panicked.

"Rachel, the thing started shooting sparks and smoking! How on earth would a puppy do that?" Dani asked.

"Okay….what do we do?"

"Buy a new one."

"We did NOT budget for an Xbox! There's no way we have the money for that."

"I have an idea," Dani said, reaching for her phone.

Rachel stopped her, though. "No. Hell no. You're not calling your brother's ex-girlfriend's

drug dealer who gets things off the back of a truck. I don't want an Xbox full of cocaine."

"You got a better plan?"

* * *

"Hello, ladies," the doorman said, smiling pleasantly. "May I see your I.D.s, please?"

The girls handed them over and waited as they were dutifully inspected.

"Thank you, Danielle, and Rachel," he said, standing aside. "Enjoy."

The casino was a maze of light and sound.

Dani pulled out her sunglasses and pecked Rachel on the cheek. "Right, remember, twenty dollars each –"

" – and we meet back here in an hour and a half," Rachel said, nodding. "Heading over to the 'luck games'. Blackjack?"

"You know it. See you in a bit."

Rachel wandered over through the maze of slot machines to where a man was running the "Guess the Numbers" game and other ones that at first glance depended on luck. Rachel knew better though, and she walked right up to him and said. "Five on the Numbers."

"Sure thing, ma'am. What's your guess?"

Rachel looked at the jar full of poker chips, and did some quick mental math. "How precise do I have to be?"

"Within five."

"Three hundred and forty-two," she said promptly.

He stared at her, then down at his tablet, and then back up at her. "That's…that's correct." He printed her ticket that showed her fifteen dollar prize.

"I'd like to bet that fifteen on the Find the Lady game," Rachel said pleasantly.

An hour later, Rachel and Dani met to cash out.

"How'd you do?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I was off to a rough start…but I managed a solid two hundred. You?"

"Four hundred."

"How in the hell did you –"

"I may have gotten a game of poker in as well."

"Damn good day for us."

* * *

Santana came home that afternoon to find Rachel and Dani gone. She huffed – it had been a short, but grueling shift at the bookstore, and she wanted to get her macks on. She sniffed the air, noticing a vaguely chemical smell. Then she spotted something odd. She rushed over to their entertainment center, gaping at the brand spanking new Xbox One.

"How the fuck?" she said aloud, but apparently the girls really weren't home. She spotted a card with her name on it on top of the stack of games. It read:

_Hi baby! Rachel and I were trying to learn how to play Call of Duty so we could play with you on Christmas day. It was going to be one of your presents. Unfortunately, the old Xbox became possessed by a vengeful spirit, and exploded. I mean literally exploded. That's what you're smelling – fried Xbox. So we still have no fucking clue how to play CoD, but we figure a new toy is a good switch. R and I have the late shift at the diner and the gallery. See you when you get home!_

_Xo, Dani_

Santana's mouth was hanging open. Late shift…that meant they'd get home around one. Plenty of time to try out the new toy. She decided, as she popped Assassin's Creed: Black Flag into the console, that she was _not _going to ask how they managed to afford this….


	8. Alone Time

**Home for the Holidays**

It was a week until Christmas, and Santana was dead tired. She'd been working double shifts five days a week since Thanksgiving to buy her girls some bling for Christmas. She set the two small boxes under the tree and stretched, groaning as she heard small pops.

"Hey you," Rachel said, coming into the front room from the hallway. "Tired?"

"Understatement."

"Come on," she said, taking the older woman by hand and leading her back to the bedroom.

Soft music was playing, and candles were lit. Santana glanced twice around the room and then back at Rachel. "Wha?"

"I know you're tired," Rachel said, a smirk coming to her face. "But the good news is, we're doing all the work tonight." She guided Santana into a chair, took a few steps back and began peeling off her clothes with _agonizing _slowness. When Santana tried to roll forward, she held up a hand. "Nope. You just watch."

Santana obeyed, nearly drooling as Rachel swayed, stripping to the beat of the music. Her eyes flicked over to the door of the bathroom, where Dani was coming out.

"Enjoying yourself?" the blonde asked with a smirk. She was already naked. "Rachel, the bath's ready, and I think she's a little overdressed."

Santana remembered how to use her legs then, and went to yank off her shirt, but Rachel slapped her hands away.

"We do all the work, remember?" she asked. She pulled Santana's shirt up and over her head slowly.

Dani walked around to stand behind Santana and undid her belt while dropping kisses across her bare shoulders. "Bath," she said simply once Santana was completely naked.

Five minutes later, Santana was pretty certain she'd died and gone directly to heaven. No passing go, no collecting two hundred dollars. She groaned as Rachel massaged her shoulders. Dani was currently massaging her feet.

"I'm not complaining at all," she said, a little breathlessly. "But what brought this on?"

"You're usually the one spoiling us," Dani said. "So we wanted to flip the script tonight."

"Have I told you both lately how perfect you are?"

"No, how very inconsiderate of you," Rachel said, grinning as she kissed her neck.

"Yes, you should be ashamed of yourself," Dani joked. She moved so that she was sitting on her knees in between Santana's legs. "Don't worry, we still love you." She leaned in and gave both girls a deep kiss, one after the other.

"Let's get out before all three of us get wrinkly," Rachel said.

As they dried off, Rachel leaned up to kiss Santana again. "I know we probably got Sexy Snix going pretty good, but as much as we'd love to have our wicked way with you tonight, we are completely aware of the fact that you're about to collapse from exhaustion. So we're going to bed, and Dani and I are going to cuddle the hell out of you. Got it?"

Santana couldn't even argue, but she was planning on a very hot, graphic thank you in the morning. "Got it." The three of them got into bed and Santana couldn't help the goofy smile that came to her face. "You're both amazing. Thank you."

"Anytime, S," Dani said, hugging her.

"You're welcome," Rachel said as she cuddled into Santana's side. "Now close your eyes and go to sleep."

"Goodnight."


	9. Mistletoe

Rachel should have known something was up. She told Dani that much, as they both attempted to study for finals.

"Anyone who comes in with that big of a grin must be up to no good."

"Maybe if we ignore her, she'll go away," Dani said, trying not to smile and failing.

Santana just stood there in the doorway, same smug grin plastered to her face. She swished her hips back and forth. "Ladies?"

"Just pretend she's another Christmas decoration," Rachel faux-whispered.

"Come on!" Santana whined.

The two kept studying.

Santana stalked out of the room, huffing.

* * *

Dani was relaxing, listening to some Christmas music as she painted. She smiled, feeling someone kiss the top of her head.

Taking her earphones off, she tilted back to look at Santana. "Hey, you!"

"Hey. Turn around."

Dani did so, and rolled her eyes. "No."

"Daniiiiiiiii."

"No, go away."

"But -"

"No buts. I have a painting to finish."

Santana pouted, but slinked off to find Rachel.

"You still have that thing on?"

It was lunch time by now. Rachel was in the kitchen making lettuce wraps when Santana had sauntered in.

"Yep!"

"Go get Dani - it's time for lunch."

"Can we change the menu for what we'll be _eating_?" Santana asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Rachel facepalmed. "Go get Dani, you goober."

* * *

They hadn't seen Santana in a few hours. Dani pushed play on the remote control to start the movie, and called for her.

Santana came sliding into the room in fuzzy socks. She was in her pajamas now, but she was still wearing….

"You think you're so cute with your little mistletoe belt, don't you?" Rachel asked, as Dani fell sideways laughing.

"Pretty cute, yeah," Santana said, grinning as she walked over to the couch and stood in front of them.

"Fine. You get a kiss for effort," Rachel said, leaning up to kiss Santana on the lips.

"But you're supposed to kiss _under _the mistletoe," Santana said, still grinning.

The other two just rolled their eyes and pulled their girlfriend onto the couch with them.


End file.
